Blogs

[Some] claimed that the German Army, though in retreat in the fall of 1918, could have kept up the fight had it not been betrayed by defeatist and scheming politicians … This was, of course, a self-serving lie: German armies were being routed. … [In attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election,] what Trump and his minions are now attempting is of a piece. (Bret Stephens, “The President Contrives His Stab-in-the-Back Myth,” The New York Times, 11/24/2020.)

This word can also be a synonym for alike, like, comparable, consistent, parallel, analogous, equivalent, and same when used in the sense of similar with something else.…

Recently, a headline appeared in a London tabloid: “Missing Woman Remains Found.” It’s a solecism, of course. (Carmela Ciuraru, “Laura van den Berg’s ‘Find Me.’” The New York Times, 2/27/2015.)

This word can also be a synonym for error, mistake and misuse when used in the sense of an ungrammatical combination of words in a sentence or blunder in speech.…

[As a transitive verb, derogate means to disparage. As an intransitive verb, it means to detract, so as to impair the value or effectiveness of something, or to deviate from. .] All jobs require us at some point to deliver bad news.  We dread such discussions even when the revelations aren’t at all our fault. It turns out that our aversion is for good reason.  Our research shows that people are prone to derogating those who tell them things they don’t want to hear—we shoot the messenger. (Leslie John, “When Receiving Bad News, We Shoot the Messenger,” Harvard Business Review, 4/16/2019.)

When used in the sense of disparage, this word can also be a synonym for criticize, belittle, vilify, denigrate, deride and scorn.…

We live in a purist age, one that prizes completeness and the composer’s version, often his first version, over revisions. … Such thinking is rectitudinous in that it tries to give us the composer’s ”true” thoughts, unbesmirched by intervening time or even the composer’s own reconsiderations. (John Rockwell, “Reverberations,” The New York Times, 3/19/2004.)

This word can also be a synonym for sincere, moral or truthful, when used in the sense of being honest and morally correct.…

The [tour] guide, who was driving, was as blustering and half-baked as a used car commercial. … We debouched from the bus feeling shaken but freshly energized, like we’d busted out of a hostage situation. (Dwight Garner, “Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s Enduring San Francisco,” The New York Times, 3/11/2019.)

This word can also be a synonym for appear and materialize, both in the sense of emerge.…